General

Q1: What is Whitestore?

Whitestore is a modern and secure backup system, based on principle of online data backup and restore with an easy administration in English/Czech and a unique price/data security rate.

Whitestore is an ideal solution for all willing to backup their data at high level while keeping minimal acquisition and low maintenance costs.

Why to choose Whitestore from Whitesoft s.r.o.

completely cuts costs for acquisition and maintenance of backup system

operating costs fully under control

top security

maximum reliability

unlimited monitoring

simple administration

geographically separated storage locations

Technically, the core of Whitestore system is a high-capacity storage placed in a secure data center with fast Internet connection. Primary storage is (just in case of failure) secured by a secondary data array, placed in geographically separate location.

Before your valuable data leaves your computer it is encrypted and it enters the Internet in an encrypted format. Transfer to the data center is perfectly safe and data is unreadable for others.

The only thing customer has to care about is that the computers which should be backed up are switched on and connected to the Internet at the moment of scheduled back up. If it does not happen Whitestore server sends an automatic e-mail to customer informing him about the back up process failure and the customer process the back up then on his own request.

Automatic backup library ensures that the data are stored at the correct media, moved then to a bank repository.

Date restore is as follows: By user´s request is the encrypted data sent to the Whitestore Lite resp. Whitestore Pro client and the user is asked to enter encryption (decryption) key. If the correct key is entered, data is restored.

Q2: What is Whitestore Lite and who is it designed for?

Whitestore Lite is an ideal tool for online backup of your digital photos, home videos, movies, music tracks, documents, all files you can just imagine. It can be used not only in households but also in smaller companies to archive important data such as invoices, projects, documents to particular customers, graphic designs of advertising studios, etc.

Lite version is intended for individual back up of files from one computer, typically your home computer or company laptop. One account (one license) is for one computer.

Undisputed advantage of Whitestore Lite is fast installation, simple setting of backup process and convenient way to data recovery.

If you need to back up other types of data than files or if you want to administrate back up of more devices (computers, servers, laptops, computer networks), Whitestore Pro is your best choice.

Q3: What is Whitestore Pro and who is it designed for?

It is an ideal tool for small and medium sized companies that need to be safe in their employees' data from each computer and data from a mail server, database server, etc., thus a complete backup of corporate data. Whitestore Pro can also be used in homes with multiple computers.

Pro version is designed for back up of various data from multiple devices under one account into a common data storage, typically several servers or workstations in a company. One account (one license) is for any number of computers.

Undisputed advantage of Whitestore Pro is fast installation, simple setting of back up process and convenient way to data recovery.

If you need to back up files of one computer only, Whitestore Lite is the correct option for you.

Q4: What are the advantages of Whitestore compared to competitive solutions?

number of back ups and time of their retention depend on your decision only

minimal acquisition cost

free backup and recovery

ultimate security

Q5: What are the disadvantages of Whitestore compared to competitors?

Whitestore service hasn't yet developed a strong brand name as some of the competitive products, which might discourage some customers. However, we do our best to compensate for this handicap by offering the best possible quality and unbeatable price. We believe that, apart from marketing, our solution is superior in every aspect. And the increasing interest in this service shows that our belief is true.

Q6: How long does Whitestore exist?

Customers began to use the first version of Whitestore system at the end of 2007. Since then, the system considerably improved and expanded. Today, it is in use by customers from several EU countries (mainly from the Western and Central Europe, as well as customers from Australia.

Installation & Backup

Q7: Is it possible to try Whitestore for free?

Yes, of course. It is possible to try the service for 30 days with no restrictions except for data capacity limit. As the moment Whitestore client is installed on your computer you can start the back up procedure. System will work for 30 days with no restrictions up to the limit of dedicated data capacity, 10 GB.

Your free user account will be limited after 30 days trial or you can assign to full user account. After 60 days is your free account completely deleted, inclusive backed up data.

Q8: What is the Whitestore installation procedure?

You can try the service first (see Q7) or you can directly make an order:

To have the full user account enabled and proper price selected, you need to know the amount of data (in GB) you want to backup. Amount of data determines the price (see Q27).

Q9: How long does it take to install the Whitestore service?

Setting up free user account is a matter of minutes (Whitestore client installation, back up setting).

Setting up full user account or assigning free to full user account, or let’s say the time from your order is placed until your full user account is set up, is a matter of minutes again.

In case that you already use your free user account the only thing that is needed to assign to full user account is to order the Whitestore service (see Q8) and set up data capacity for storing your back ups. You keep your Whitestore client you are using, just modify your back up process so that all your requirements are covered.

Q10: What do I need to backup by Whitestore?

Technical-wise, you’ll need Internet connection only.

Q11: What is Whitestore client?

Whole system is designed not to require any modifications on the side of your computers, servers etc. Therefore there is a Whitestore Lite resp. Whitestore Pro client installed on your computer where you set up back up processes, their periodicity, data encryption and other settings. Consequently this client controls the entire back up process, encrypts data, sends it to the data center and provides data recovery.

Q12: What systems can be backed up by Whitestore?

In this point of view it is necessary to distinguish between two types of Whitestore clients offered by us:

Whitestore Lite is a system designed for one computer back up, with simple settings and limited administration.

Whitestore Lite can back up:

files of all types

Whitestore Pro is a system designed for more devices back up, with advanced administration options.

Whitestore Pro can back up:

files of all types

Lotus Domino server

Lotus Notes client

MS Exchange Server

MS Exchange Mail Level

MS SQL Server

MySQL

ShadowProtect System Backup

Q13: What are the limits for the amount of backed up data?

The minimum backup space that can be purchased is 20 GB. There is no top limit –Whitestore system can handle data volumes beyond the demands of even large businesses. However, it is always necessary to consider the actual speed of your Internet connection, so as all the data are backuped in the required interval.

If you plan to back up large amount of data it is possible to carry out an offline method transfer. You can load your data to the system by such called datamats, computers dedicated to this purpose. Datamats are available on a phone request (+420 777 337 668) in our Prague and Liberec office in the working days, in non-working days after agreement.

Q14: How to get my data to Whitestore client?

Simply, quickly and securely in encrypted form via the Internet.

If you plan to back up large amount of data it is possible to carry out an offline method transfer (Seed backup). You can load your data to the system by such called datamats, computers dedicated to this purpose. Datamats are available on a phone request (+420 777 337 668) in our Prague and Liberec office in the working days, in non-working days after agreement.

Q15: What I must change in my firewall settings?

Firewall is a network device that controls network traffic between your LAN and Internet. To enable the backup properly, Whitestore client needs to be authorized to access whitestore.eu and port 443 (standard HTTPS protocol).

If you need an advice on how to perform these settings correctly, we are willing to help you or assist your administrator.

Q16: Can one Whitestore service simultaneously backup data from more servers or workstations?

Yes, of course.

Whitestore Lite is a system designed for one computer back up, with simple settings and limited administration.

Whitestore Pro is a system designed for more devices back up, with advanced administration options.

If you want to back up more devices then choose Whitestore Pro. The number of backed up servers/workstations is of no importance. The only limit is the agreed Whitestore capacity.

Q17: How fast must be my Internet connection? What time does the daily backup take?

Due to the fact that the data is transferred via Internet, it is necessary to have a good internet connection. The speed of your back up depends on several factors: the amount of data or the amount of the data that have been changed since last back up and the speed of your connection outwards (upload).

Most internet lines are asynchronous, which means that the upload is slower than download (being indicated by values such as “4096/512”). Lower value is the speed of data sent from you to the Internet, and it is this value that is critical for the back up speed.

The connection should be at least of such a speed that back up is finished before the next backup begins.

Whitestore system optimizes the data transfer by using a special algorithm and thus transferring only changed blocks of information instead of whole files. The amount of transferred data is therefore usually lower than the total amount of modified files.

Please see reference times in the table below.

Upload speed

Amount of data transferred
within 1 hour

Amount of data transferred
within "backup window"

128 kbps

58 MB

461 MB

256 kbps

115 MB

922 MB

512 kbps

230 MB

1,84 GB

1024 kbps

461 MB

3,68 GB

2048 kbps

922 MB

7,37 GB

4096 kbps

1,84 GB

14,74 GB

8192 kbps

3,68 GB

29,49 GB

12288 kbps

5,52 GB

44,16 GB

Note: The table is for basic reference only. Exact time depends on quality of your internet connection and the load generated by other services.

Q18: How often and when are my data backed up?

The time and frequency of backups is set up by you and the backup schedule and settings are whenever modifiable according to your needs.

Standard recommended backup frequency is one backup per day. System won´t limit you in number and frequency of backups. The decision is only up to you.

Recovery

Q19: What is the maximum age of data that can be restored?

With Whitestore client you can restore backups regardless of their age.

We recommend setting up the backup schedule so that it is possible to restore data (related to current date) old 1–7 days, 1–4 weeks, 1–3 months, 1–4 quarter and 1–10 years.

This means that data older than 7 days you are able to restore with a week interval, data older than 4 weeks with a month interval, data older than 3 months with a quarter interval and older data with a whole year interval.

Graph of Age of data dependence on Interval between backup versions

Q20: How fast is the data restoration?

The time it takes from demand for data restoration to the moment the data are back at a specified location depends mainly on the amount of data to be restored and your internet connection speed. Data restore is usually faster than data back up of the same amount of data as the speed guaranteed by your Internet provider for download is usually higher than the speed guaranteed for upload.

If you need to online restore volumes of backed up data it may take several hours, for this purpose it is possible to carry out offline restore. In case offline restore as well as in case of online restore, the data are restored just in case that you need the encryption key.

Q21: How can I access the restored data?

It is very simple. Restored data are downloaded and stored where you require.

Security & Warranties

Q22: What is the warranty that my data will be restored?

From the legal point of view, all conditions are listed in the Whitestore "License Agreement".

From the technical point of view, the backed up data is placed at 2 different locations and so far not even a single bit of our customers’ data has been lost. The successful recovery rate is thus 100 % from the very start up to now.

Q23: Can’t my data mix up with others’ data? Who can read my data?

The mixture of data is impossible. In the data storage, your data is separated from those of other clients in such a way that any mistake is simply impracticable. Moreover, you can encrypt your data before sending them through Whitestore client, so nobody except you (not even the maintenance staff) can access it, had they tried as hard as theoretically possible. Read more about security of your data in the following answer (Q24).

Q24: How are my data secured?

The ultimate data security is one of the key characteristics of the Whitestore system. Your data is protected from the moment the backup process has started until it is stored to the data center; it is secured along the entire “backup route”.

The data storage center is protected against physical attack by the most up-to-date safety features, including 24/7 guard. The backup system can be accessed only by audited and skilled staff, subject to severe surveillance and must keep a set of specified rules of work in data centers.

As far as logical security is concerned, Whitestore system offers unmatched level of security to eliminate even the least risk of data misuse. First of all, the data can be secured by encryption even before it is sent through Whitestore client. Such option makes the content of your backed up data inaccessible for anybody except you (including the data center maintenance staff).

Q25: What will happen to my data if your company goes bankrupt?

Although we strongly believe this will not happen, in such case all back up systems and data storages would be handled according to laws of the Czech Republic. As emphasized in (Q24), the abuse of your data is at any rate impossible.

Price

Q26: What is the acquisition cost of Whitestore client?

Acquisition cost of Whitestore Lite is 48 EUR, acquisition cost of Whitestore Pro is 80 EUR. The only thing you have to do is to install appropriate client, set up back up schedules and start the back up process.

All prices exclude VAT.

Q27: How much does the Whitestore service cost?

Monthly payment depends on the size of contracted backup space. Minimal contracted backup space is 20 GB. The price remains even if the reserved capacity is not fully utilized.

Unbeatable price per 1 GB of contracted back up space is 0,12 EUR per month.

All prices exclude VAT.

Q28: What is the price of data recovery or related services?

Online back up and recovery is for free.

Consultation related to Whitestore system or backup generally is free of charge.

All prices exclude VAT.

Recommended settings

Q29: What is the difference between incremental and differential backup?

We can distinguish three levels of backup:

Full backup – complete file content is backed up on the server

Incremental backup – changes to files made since the last backup are backed up on the server

Differential backup – changes made since the last full backup are backed up on the server

Q30: What are the advantages and disadvantages of full backup?

Full backup always transfers complete content of the file. This is a great advantage when restoring the file, as it is not necessary to merge any changes.

The disadvantage is considerable bandwidth requirements.

Q31: What are the advantages and disadvantages of incremental backup?

When using incremental backup, minimum amount of data is transferred to the server (only the file changes made since the last backup). This optimizes the time of data transfer.

The main disadvantage of incremental backup is that for the correct file recovery, it is necessary to keep on the server all increments since the last full backup. And for the file recovery, it is necessary to bring all these increments back and merge them into one file.

Q32: What are the advantages and disadvantages of differential backup?

The main advantage of the differential backup is that all changes since the last full backup are transferred at once. To restore a file, it is necessary to transfer these two backups only (the last full backup and differential backup).

The disadvantage of differential backup is that it is typically larger than an incremental backup. Generally, more data is transferred.

Q33: What are the recommended backup settings?

In-File Delta
In-File Delta policy determines what type of backup will the system use to back up particular files. We recommend using the incremental backup.

It is appropriate to make a differential backup once a week - this can be set by clicking button “Advanced” and selecting the day.

For practical reasons, we do not recommend to choose full backup in advanced settings. Whether the file is backed up or not, it is determined by the date of the file modification (the file has been modified since the last backup), so the full backup loads the full version of changed files only - and not all files in the backup set.

Retention policy
Retention policy specifies which backups will be available for possible recovery. If you do not require your own specific settings, we recommend setting retention as follows:

1. [Daily] Number of copies to be retained: 7

2. [Weekly] Day of the week: Sat., number of copies to be retained: 5

3. [Monthly] Day of the month: 32 (last), number of copies to be retained: 12

4. [Annual] Day of the month: 31, month: 12, number of copies to be retained: 10

This setting ensures that it will be possible to restore the state of the data to any day of the previous week, any week of the previous month, any month of the previous year and for the last 10 years.

Day of weekly and monthly backups should be set on a day other than the one set for "Differential " or "Full" backup In-File Delta backup. This will lead to better optimization of your storage space.

If you use 12 copies of months, we do not recommend using quarterly backups.

It is not recommended to use the "Sensitive to overlap" function - this setting will cause that the backup of higher order (week, month, quarter, year) releases to delete all backups of lower order (i.e. after having a monthly backup, all weekly backups are released to delete). You lose a considerable part of your backups..

Q34: Control geographical data location

Q35: Backup policy

Q36: Data wipe-out on request

Whitestore Backup Software will locate and remove all the required data from the system in a timely manner upon user request.

Q37: Content encryption (AES 256-bit encryption)

Whitestore Backup Software will cipher the content that is backed up. Whitestore Backup Software uses AES 256-bit encryption (CBC mode recommended) key as the security measure. This will protect you, as an MSP, from data security breach due to network intrusion in the rare case when your system is compromised.